GameChops

The “Netflix and Chill” meme has now permeated VGM culture, ladies and gentlemen. German beat-maker Mikel and mastered by Philadelphia based Dj CUTMAN have released hip-hop album Zelda & Chill, which features 14 Zelda themes from the across the whole Legend of Zelda series history.

Featuring compositions from Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi, Hajime Wakai, Takeshi Hama, Manaka Kataoka, and Yasuaki Iwata, Zelda & Chill contains music from the original Legend of Zelda for NES all the way up to Breath of the Wild, including fan-favorites such as “Gerudo Valley”, “Song of Storms” and “Lost Woods” plus more. These tracks were recreated with classic keyboard sounds, atmospheric synths and laid back beats, the perfect soundtrack to study, have on in your office or, well, just chill to.

If you’re like me and you’re not quite ready to let Halloween fade away for another year, then you can at least partake in a bit more horror-related game music courtesy of Gamechops!

“Never Alone” is a Five Nights at Freddy’s horrorcore / drumstep / drum and bass song from Nitroglitch and Dj CUTMAN and featuring a music video with video animation and visuals by Chronowolf and Dj CUTMAN. If you go and grab the download, you actually also get a special chillout remix of FNAF Sister Location.

So don’t feel you need to pack up your pumpkins and skeletons yet, as there’s still a bit of ghoulish juice to squeeze out of the Halloween season!

The people over at GameChops have decided to get in on the massive love for Cuphead and the game’s fantastic soundtrack by composer Kristofer Maddigan by creating an EDM-swing arrangement of “Botanic Panic” from the game’s music!

This remix of Botanic Panic is by James Landino and mastered by Dj CUTMAN. Cutman also edited the video, showing many boss fights thanks to the excellent gameplay footage by Emily Feder! Oh my gosh we sure have fallen in love with Cuphead over here at GameChops! Hope you enjoy this Cuphead electro swing music video, what an amazing soundtrack, incredible animation and an awesome game!

The catchy beats of the electro-swing arrangement fit perfectly with the game’s original melody and works with the zany gameplay of the video. The “Botanic Panic” Electro Swing Mix is free to download on the Gamechops website.

Over the last few months, GameChops founder DJ Cutman has been posting some of my favorite tracks to his personal YouTube channel. They all hail from his older albums and they simply feature game music, with a beat, slowed down to a jam-worthy tempo. It turns out this wasn’t a coincidence as he recently launched Radio Cutman on the channel offering a “24/7 live stream of instrumental & lo-fi hip hop, video game remixes, and chill-out beats”.

Cutman isn’t mixing the music live 24 hours a day but he hascurated 231 beats from himself, DJ Grumble (Freestyle Tools), and Bknapp (SNES Beats) into a 9-hour playlist that unfolds differently each day. He’s also edited many of the beats to fit the non-stop stream format — cutting out intros and adjusting the audio to get things into a seamless flow of jams.

As advertised, it’s been a great accompaniment to my workweek. Retro tunes and samples (largely from Nintendo consoles) appear alongside modern indie favorites (like Undertale and Shovel Knight), all aligned with some fantastic beats. Give it a listen above or on YouTube to join the live chat where the GameChops crew seems to be pretty active. Rumor has it a similar live station is coming soon to highlight GameChops releases.

This surprising “deep house meets future bass” remix of Super Mario 64’s “Dire Dire Docks” makes for a great start to a quick GameChops roundup. The indie game music label is still riding high from the release of their collaborative Sonic the Hedgehog tribute album, Spindash 2, but they’ve been steadily releasing new singles all year. You can catch the full drip feed of colorful music videos and new releases on the GameChops YouTube channel but here a few highlights from their recent releases.

Given that GameChops frequently turns out thumping bangers of wild EDM flavors, I was intrigued to hear their treatment of the classically mellow “Dire Dire Docks” from Super Mario 64. Newcomers to the label – Nokbient and Besso0 – do not disappoint, miraculously turning the peaceful theme into a chopped and chipped rendition complete with the requisite big drop.

Back on the Sonic train, GameChops and Hyper Potions co-produced the track “Friends” that serves as the animated opening theme to Sonic Mania. It’s a major milestone for the label and an all around super sweet and bouncy electronic track that’s made even better when you see it in the game.

DJ Cutman himself recently offered up this “Daft Punk meets Off The Hook” remix of Splatoon 2’s “Color Pulse” by the in-game pop duo, Off The Hook. Lastly is “Bendy and Electro Swing”, a remix from bLiNd of Kyle Allen’s original Bendy and the Ink Machine song. As the name implies it’s swingy and gives the original song and its lyrics a lot of thumping punch.

There’s something about Sonic that makes me think Summertime; maybe it’s the series trademark vibrant colors or penchant for lush, tropical Zones. GameChops must feel the same because July 1st marked the launch of their latest collaborative album, Spindash 2. Featuring GameChops alumni as well as some new faces, the 16-track album covers a similar roster of Sonic titles.

There’s a lot of love for Sonic 1, 2, and 3 but you’ll also hear loving EDM (and 1 solo piano) remixes from Sonic Colors, Sonic 2006, Sonic and the Secret Rings and more. The album is available to buy now for around $10 on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play. You can also stream it on Spotify or listen and watch DJ Cutman’s July 1st listening party stream. It’s a spastic, meme-tastic way to check out the music on the album. Check out the playlist below to see who remixed what.

Yuzo Koshiro’s soundtracks to Streets of Rage 1 and 2 made for defining moments in the sound of the Sega Genesis. They’re generally fast paced soundtracks and are even daunting to listen to at times, but on the latest EP release from electronic producer Doni, the familiar themes get slowed way down.

The Streets features five themes from Streets of Rage 2 remixed in a chill-out style with a bonus re-remix from RobKTA. “Go Straight” may be the most immediately familiar theme but the change in style is most apparent on “Alien Power”. The tune in the game feels appropriately spooky for the alien landscape it accompanies and quickly erupts with tinny percussion and an otherworldly synth. Doni manages to retain the melody and the overall vibe but smooths down the garish tones into something chill and pleasant.

I picture it as the stage music before the avenging heroes show up and kick things into action. Or maybe the music the thug above is listening to as he relaxes on a bench at the ballpark. The EP album is available now for $5 from Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play or you can stream it through Apple Music and Spotify. GameChops has also uploaded four of the six tracks in their entirety to YouTube if you need more than a quick sample before purchasing.

@OSVgamemusic Feed

Last night I received a signed copy of the Battletech soundtrack from composer @JonEverist. It is an absolutely stunning release by @blackscreenrec! If you missed my review for the OST you can read it here @OSVgamemusic https://t.co/qSJyXOuFyo